~ Your personal version of the Celtic Cross

Sorry, I have nothing new philosophy to say on this spread because one of them have reply the spread I have known. Anyway, what I want to say here is that I am amazed to know that there can be many philosophy in one spread!

It is a brilliant idea to introduce new philosophies on the spread here.

As I have read from a book, the author think that celtic cross is for know what the querer's hope and his or her environment. For me, I think it is best use to interpret who is in doubt of a matter.

someone posted significators "blecccchhhh" ... and i never really liked being limited to the queen for a mature woman , king for a mature man thing but i do like to use a focus card ( any card in the deck that i think represents the subject at hand )or object ( like in the case of a relationship spread a picture of the couple or in a business related question a business card). In an open reading, as in there is no formulated question you are asking the cards a favorite object or something that one feels closely associated with...
that said i do all this stuff mainly for myself and usually chose a Court card or Ace or Major for other people.
i recently saw a post where the author expressed dismay that by choosing a significator one is messing with the spread because one might "need" the card later for a good reading, but i feel that it enhances focus of a reading.

1. The situation right now
2. What influences the situation
3. Deep past (1.5 years to 2 years ago) significant event
4. Recent past (6 months generally to the day) significant event
5. Reaching for. Goals. Aspirations
6. Near future (timing may be included in card that falls here)
7. How others see the querant in regards to the situation described by card 1.
8. How the querant feels. Hopes and dreams
9. Obstacle or hurdle. What do you have to get past?
10. Outcome.
I will sometimes lay more clarification until I get a Major arcana, but normally I don't.

Originally posted by ArwenNightstar I think my reading of the CC is fairly mundane. Yes? No?

Oh, I don't know Arwen... seems like a good one to me. I do like the use of a card for goals/aspirations regarding the issue. Hmmm.... might need to tweak my CC a little bit... will have to think about it anyway.

This is my spread. An easy way I learned to lay it out, for any nubies, or "memory challanged folks" like me.....

1....This is you
2....This is what "covers" you
3....This is what is at the heart of the matter (deep inside)
4....This is behind you
5....This is above you (reaching for)
6....This is in front of you (near future)
7....This is how you see yourself and/or the situation
8....This is how others see it (the energy around you)
9....This is your greatest hopes &/or fears (& they can be the same thing)
10....This is the outcome
10 & 6 can be read together and usually sums it up.....

i noticed lots of people running the first six cards around clockwise, and though that is nice as far as the layout goes and the throwing is done i would like to explain why i like my version
<<just fyi not because i think it is 'better'>>
card 1 and 2 - the querent and the obstacle( this is where we mostly agree)
card 3 - i place on the top because 3 represents a triangle thus
*
*/*
card 4- i put on the bottom , because 4 represents a square also in my reading it represents the foundation
*
*/* the square just seems to
* make a stronger foundation

i do this because to me tarot is not only the picture but the chronology of the picture and the placement...

5 and 6 are on either side of 1/2
5 is recent past and 6 is near future
does anyone else think of their layouts like this?

Is that right? I would think if this works for you, great. So far, using the numbering I learned originally works great for me. The comment has been made before, by several people, that we (whoever the reading is for) get the cards we need. If this is the layout you have fixed in your mind as you're shuffling and laying out the cards, then I feel the appropriate cards will come up in the appropriate positions.

A good example is the 5-card Past - Present - Future line spread which I find myself using more and more. When I first found this spread at the Tarot Layouts FAQ, the cards were said to be layed out in a line from right to left;

...5...4...3...2...1

with the cards for the past & recent past being #1 & #2. This always seemed to throw me, because I'd always done things from left to right (reading, number lines, time lines, etc). I tried it from right to left, but the cards never felt right... so, I reversed it - for my own use. I still deal the cards in the same order; past - recent past - present - near future - future, but from left to right;

...1...2...3...4...5

this works much better for me, because that is the way my mind comprehends the flow of P - P - F. And the only reason for it is my own past learning and experience. Personally, I feel this is one of the most important factors in how we lay out the cards, in how our spreads are designed; our own personal experience, perspective, training, and so forth. What is perfect for me, might be completely incomprehensible to Kiama. What works for Kiama, might not work for Holmes, etc... However, that is one of the greatest things about these forums... we get to discuss these differences and similarities and find new things that work for us and help us to discover how to redesign a spread which doesn't work for us.

This is, in part why I designed my CC spread, the lay out of it, the way I did. The past is to the left, future to the right. Basis at the bottom, hidden influences above (where we might not see them), and so on. I lay the cards out in the order I do, because that is what works for me. As I mentioned, I have seen CC's where the cards are layed out in the order you describe, but the flow just didn't jive with what I feel for the CC.

Originally posted by Kirali
11. shadow card- what's at rest or aspect hidden or suprise element
( the last card I usually take from the bottom of the deck) [/B]

Now this is a fascinating addition to the Celtic Cross spread. Did you add this in or did you learn it from someone? I love to know histories of things. Particularly when I am drawn to add it to my own readings! LOL!

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